ROTHENBURGER – Drug overdoses need action but so does the Ajax mine
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
A NATIONAL EMERGENCY on drug overdoses will be declared if the powers in Ottawa listen to Kamloops City council.
The council received a notice of motion Tuesday from three of its members calling on the federal government to declare the emergency and consult with provinces to develop a comprehensive national action plan and look at what other countries are doing.
It’s a well-intentioned proposal that received approval from the council, though it would be naïve to think federal legislators will hop to and instantly do something about it. It’s one of those situations where council has no jurisdiction but is using its position to try to influence what somebody else is doing.
Drug overdoses certainly deserve attention both here and nationally but there’s another threat to the well-being of the community that should not be ignored around the council table, and that’s the Ajax mine.
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
KIBOSH, no way, KGHM Ajax was FROZEN, to be thawed out at a later date. Do you want to talk about weasel words, the KGHM Ajax proposal is 18,000 pages in 21 binders, 5″ and 6″ wide full of them.
“The project is currently in the phase of planning and analysis” from the KGHM Polska Miedz site TODAY.
If the KGHM Ajax proposal was presented as a final term paper or a job application, an examiner or career counsellor would have suggested “Find a better direction for your future because THIS NOT NOT IT”.